


A Tale of Two Artists

by 101DalmationStFan



Category: 101 Dalmatian Street (Cartoon)
Genre: Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26216674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/101DalmationStFan/pseuds/101DalmationStFan
Summary: While making a piece of artwork in the backyard, Da Vinci hears about an annual convention that features artworks from Camden's finest artists. Desperately wanting to attend the event, she seeks for a family member who would be willing to accompany her at the convention that takes place on the opposite end of Camden. A tale of sibling bonding and Da Vinci's perspective of the world around her.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. Part 1

** A Tale of Two Artists (Part 1) **

It was a typical Monday morning in the town of Camden, London. Cars jammed up the highways and roads, people were bustling on the streets and making their way to work, thick clouds obscured the morning Sun and would continue doing so for the rest of the day. A typical depressing weather to start off another long week. But over at a townhouse at 101 Dalmatian Street, the mood within the house was quite contrary to the atmosphere outside.

With Doug and Delilah off to work, Dylan and Dolly decided to let the pups off into the backyard to have some outdoor activity, rather than have everyone cooped up inside the house. The pups certainly had no qualms about having to go outside, judging by how they madly shot out of the house the moment Dolly opened the back door.

It had rained the entire of the day before, and so, with plenty of rain comes with plenty of mud. And with plenty of mud comes with plenty of-

“Hey, Dylan! Mud pie!”

Just as the older pup stepped outside the back door, a ball of mud greeted him in the snout before he even had time to react.

“AH!” Dylan exclaimed, frozen in his step with mud covering his entire face and trickling down his maw. With a furious growl, he violently shook his head to clear the mud away and started looking around for the culprit. It didn’t take him long to find out that there were actually three culprits, as the three Dimitris were just a few feet away, all snickering at him with Dimitri-1 holding a pile of mud in his right paw.

“Dimitris!” Dylan yelled angrily at them. He got on his fours and had every intention to launch himself in the air and get back at the mischievous triplets. But another snickering voice called out to him before he could even move another muscle. “Hey, bro! Isn’t it a little too early for your beauty facial?”

Dylan sighed and saw Dolly nearby grinning teasingly at him while leaning against her muddied skateboard that she held upright with her right paw. Dylan rolled his eyes and decided to ignore her this one time to deal with the Dimitris. He returned his gaze to where he last saw them… and scowled when he realized that they had long zipped off further across the lawn, weaving through the mud and narrowly avoiding any younger siblings that crossed their path.

“Catch us if you can, Dylan!” Dimitri-3 chortled.

“Yeah, catch us through all this mud!” Dimitri-2 guffawed, knowing very well that his hygiene-freak elder brother wouldn’t risk himself getting even dirtier by chasing them through all the mud.

And he was right. Dylan let out an annoyed grunt in defeat as he watched the triplets scamper further and further away from him. He then shot a sour look back at Dolly. “Well, that’s just great. Seriously, thanks for that, Dolly,” he huffed, blaming her for distracting him just as he was about to pounce on the Dimitris when they were nearer to him earlier.

“No, problem, bro!” Dolly grinned slyly back at him. “Always a pleasure ruining your plans!” She then broke out into a hearty, teasing laughter before Dizzy and Dee-Dee appeared and invited her to chase after them.

Dylan raised an unamused brow as he watched his sister playfully chase the two younger ones on her skateboard through the patches of mud. “Hmph… you’ve ruined more than just my plans, Dolly,” he muttered under his breath. With a defeated sigh, he decided it would be better to just get inside and finish up some chores while all the pups were outside.

Now, while excited shrieks and laughter filled the air as the Dalmatians pups frolicked about in the muddy ground, a particular artistic Dalmatian pup had found herself a nice quiet spot at the other end of the lawn. Da Vinci sat on her hind legs and gazed at the wooden fence in front of her. It was the fence that separated the house’s lawn from the sidewalk and street on the other side, and one that she planned to use as a blank canvas for the masterpiece she was about to create.

Despite the chaotic atmosphere that was literally a couple of feet behind her, Da Vinci had this rare talent of being able to completely ignore her surroundings once she was completely immersed in her paintings. This time, she had opted to ditch the conventional method of using poster-colour paint and favoured a medium that presently surrounded all around her: mud.

Rubbing her paws together, Da Vinci scooped up two piles of mud with both paws and flung them at the fence before running her paws all over it to make the outlines of her ‘painting’. She scooped another two pawfuls of mud, splattered another area of the fence with them and repeated the same process.

The young artist wore a determined look on her face as she set about on her masterpiece. A regular artist would probably find it impossible to do any work with all the shrieking and yapping that filled the surrounding atmosphere, but Da Vinci’s focus overrode all these noises, and it was almost as if she couldn’t hear any of them.

The young Dalmatian was meticulous in her art. She flicked her thumb her and there to make sure no strain of mud went beyond the outline of the figure that slowly emerged from her ‘painting’.

After 30 full minutes, Da Vinci stood back, wiped a paw across her forehead, and stared at the masterpiece she had created. A satisfied breath of air escaped her lips as she let her gaze roam about the two ‘painted’ figures on the fence that seemed to gaze back at her.

Her siblings behind her hadn’t seem to notice the artwork that would have glared at them had they happen to look towards the fence. But she couldn’t care less about it; the inspiration for her idea had spawned in her mind just minutes earlier, and the urge to have it immediately ‘painted’ was borderline desperation. She just had to paint it whether or not it attracted anyone else’s attention. And this was very much the same way it went with her various other artwork and paintings.

And once she had painstakingly managed to manifest that idea into its physical form, an overwhelming feeling of pure satisfaction would immediately enshroud her soon afterwards, the effect was almost like taking a drug to overcome the earlier urge.

And that was the very feeling that Da Vinci currently felt as she stared at her work with starry eyes. The two figures in her artwork felt surreal, almost alive… almost-

_“Have you decided on how you’re going to the convention hall at Primrose Hill?”_

_“Yeah, I’m hopping on the number 274 bus that goes straight there. Dog knows why they decided to make this year’s event all the way on the other side of town.”_

Da Vinci’s ears pricked up with curiosity when she happened to hear of what seems to be a conversation between two posh-accented adult dogs walking on the sidewalks on the other side of the fence; one male and one female.

_“Oh, I just can’t imagine how hard it must be for the artists to carry their artwork all the way to the convention hall.”_

_“Well, that’s their problem. Good thing we’re just the connoisseurs who will inspect the art pieces and not actually make them. Anyways, since we’re here on this part of Camden and the convention starts at noon, let’s drop by the market. There’s this butcher shop where I can guarantee you…”_

As the two voices faded away, Da Vinci sat on her haunches, her mind rapidly digesting what she heard from the conversation.

“ _A convention of artists? Bringing their artwork? And connoisseurs who will evaluate each and every single masterpiece?”_ Da Vinci eagerly asked herself, her eyes gleamed with excitement. “I have to see this convention!”

Her mind gleefully pictured the line of artwork created by the finest canine artists in the whole Camden, all perfectly displayed for her to admire and draw in inspiration. She just had to see it! And it wasn’t like Dolly or Dylan had anything planned for her or the rest of the siblings once playtime at the backyard came to an end. Everyone would most likely spend the rest of the day in the living room watching tv or doing their own thing in their respective rooms, as they had done so during the weekdays of the previous week.

No, today was certainly a perfect day for her to check out the convention! But just as she was about to dash off, she realized there was a small glitch in her plans: the event was all the way at Primrose Hill, the other side of Camden where she had never been before. Da Vinci’s ears flattened in dismay. Would she dare to go all the way to the other side of town alone… and risk getting lost?

Unsurprisingly, she started having second thoughts about going through with her plans. Unless… perhaps one of her siblings could accompany her? But… would any of them be willing to go to a convention of artists? The young artist herself doubted it. While her family had been impressed by some of her artwork, she knew for a fact that none of them were remotely interested in the fine arts. Still… she supposed she should at least give it a try. She needed someone matured and sensible to accompany her into the foreign parts of Camden town.

But as her eyes scanned around the chaotic backyard, the words ‘sensible’ and ‘matured’ probably didn’t exist in the current atmosphere. Puppies were everywhere chasing each other and throwing balls of mud into one another, and at the very centre of it, was Dolly, covered in mud and gleefully chasing after a small group of younger ones on her skateboard. ‘Matured’ and ‘sensible’ indeed. Da Vinci was reluctant to even try and ask her older sister for the favor, but she decided to give it a shot anyway.

She made her away across the muddy ground towards where Dolly was, careful to avoid any shrieking pups that might just crash into her along the way.

“Hey… Dolly?” she timidly began once she reached the older Dalmatian.

Dolly was laughing along with Dizzy, Dee-Dee and several other pups that she had been chasing after when she heard Da Vinci’s voice behind her. “Oh, hey, Da Vinci!” Dolly greeted her in her usual friendly manner. “Hey, just in time! We’re about to have a mud-ball fight, and my team is short of one. Wanna join us?”

Da Vinci forced herself an awkward smile as she stared at Dolly and her ‘team-mates’, all covered in patches of mud from head to paw and staring back at her, hoping that she would join them.

“Um… that’s very kind of you, Dolly, but... I was actually about to ask you if you wouldn’t mind accompanying me to Primrose Hill? There’s an artists’ convention going on there, and I was hoping you could join me.”

Da Vinci noted the disappointed look that the younger pups shared the moment she finished her question, and, as she had expected, Dolly didn’t appear to be enthusiastic about doing her the favor either. “Oh… I’m sorry, Da Vinci,” she said, trying to mask her reluctance. “I don’t think I’ll be able to help you there. Y’know… gotta take care of all the younger pups and all. But hey, you can try asking Dylan! In fact, you’ll be doing me a huge favor by getting him out of the house for the rest of the day!”

Da Vinci grinned good-humoredly at her. Of course Dolly would come up with something that will get Dylan off her case for the day. “Sure, Dolly,” Da Vinci politely replied and started making her way back into the house.

Meanwhile, all the way back at the fence, the Triple D happened to be joyously playing ‘tag’ with the three Dimitris, when, as usual, Dimitri-2 accidentally tripped and crashed into the others, sending all 6 of them tumbling across the mud before they landed right in front of the fence.

“Aw… it was fun until _that_ happened!” Déjà Vu sourly complained as she pulled herself off from the pile of her sisters and brothers.

“Heh! Watta you talking ’bout? We tagged all three of ’ya in one go!” Dimitri-2 chortled, to which his other brothers snickered in agreement.

“O.M.D.! Look at that!”

Everyone shifted their gaze when Destiny pointed out to something on the fence in front of them.

“Whoah… is that Mum and Dad?!” Dallas exclaimed, staring dumbfoundedly at the large, surreal image that was ‘painted’ on the fence.

“Crickey… even looks like they’re glaring at us!” Dimitri-1 noted, shifting uneasily as he stared at it.

“Hah! Scared of a painting on the fence, are we?” Dimitri-3 teased his brother.

“It’s not even a painting! It’s… what? Some mud on the fence?” Dimitri-2 asked indifferently.

“Oh… it’s not just mud on the fence, Dimitri!” Déjà Vu huffed, annoyed at her brother’s ignorance. “It’s clearly a work of art!”

“It must be Da Vinci’s art!” Destiny correctly deduced, as she went closer to the fence to have a better look at it.

As the six pups gathered in front of the artwork, their other siblings took notice and soon joined them. It wasn’t long before a large crowd of Dalmatian puppies huddled together in front of the fence, staring in awe at the life-size ‘painted’ figures of Doug and Delilah, looking down at their pups with gazes that were almost life-like.

Meanwhile, Da Vinci had gone into the kitchen and found Dylan washing a large pile of dirty dog bowls while muttering something under his breath: _“Can’t believe I agreed with Dolly’s brilliant idea to let the pups out onto the muddy yard! I mean, what’s wrong with you, Dylan? You had a nice clean house in the morning and soon you’ll have to deal with all the muddy tracks and bla-bla bla bla bla… bla-bla bla bla bla bla…”_

To Da Vinci, Dylan’s muttering trailed off into a string of gibberish babbling, and she contemplated whether she should ask him for the favor when he’s done with the washing. But after seeing the tower of dirty dog bowls waiting to be washed, she decided to just ask him right away.

“Excuse me, Dylan,” she began.

“Hmm?” Dylan looked behind and looked surprised to see her. “Oh, hey Da Vinci! Not hanging out in the yard with the others?”

“Well… I was at the yard just now,” she said before slowly explaining, “But… there’s an artists’ convention going on at Primrose Hill, and I’m thinking of attending it! But… I would like someone to accompany me, and I was hoping that you might be able to join me at the convention.”

Dylan felt a heavy heart as he saw Da Vinci looking back at him with hopeful eyes. “Oh…” he sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry, Da Vinci. But, as you can see, I kinda have my paws full at the moment. And besides… I’m not really familiar with the Primrose Hill area, and I don’t think anyone from our family has ever been there either. I uh… I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go into a part of town where you’ve never been before, Da Vinci.”

Da Vinci’s face fell with disappointment. Her hope of visiting the convention was dashed when Dylan said his last sentence. “Oh… well, I suppose you’re right, Dylan,” she sighed, her lips quivering at the disappointment. “Thanks, anyways.”

Before Dylan could open his mouth to put together a few comforting words, Da Vinci hurriedly left the kitchen without bothering to hear what he wanted to say. Dylan felt a pang of guilt as he watched his younger sister disappear from the kitchen door.

“Oh… what have I done?” Dylan groaned, mentally kicking himself in the butt. He never meant to break her spirits, he just didn’t want her wandering out of the house in a part of town where she could easily get lost.

Da Vinci ran through the hallway and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She heaved another heavy sigh as she contemplated what to do next. She really wanted to attend the artists’ convention… somewhere where other dogs were just as artistical as her… somewhere where other dogs would understand her artistical view of the world around her… somewhere where she would feel belonged.

But then she remembered what Dylan had said about not venturing into a foreign part of town that she’s never been before. She had to admit that what Dylan said was true. It certainly looked that she would end up depressingly spend the rest of the day cooped up in the house and endlessly guess what an artists’ convention would have been like. The crestfallen Dalmatian silently wiped away the tears that soon streamed down from her orbs.

Then… she heard a familiar voice from somewhere on the floor above her:

“Come, Princess Positron! With no-one else around to disturb us, we must get back to studying the theories of cosmic expansion!”

Of course… Dawkins! Da Vinci’s eyes gleamed once again with hope. While she knew for a fact that Dawkins would be the last dog in the world who would want to be seen at an artists’ convention, she was hopeful that her genius brother would have an invention that could at least show her directions to the convention centre and made sure she doesn’t lose her way. Surely Dawkins would have come up with such an invention?

With renewed hope, Da Vinci scampered up the stairs and made her way to Dawkins’ own room. The door to his room was left ajar, and when Da Vinci peeked in, she saw him busying about on his desk, arranging several sheets of papers that had mathematical and scientific equations on them while his Princess Positron was sat on the table across from him.

He promptly looked behind in surprise when he heard Da Vinci open the door and entered his room. “Oh, Da Vinci!” he exclaimed. “What a lovely surprise… I don’t suppose you’re here to explore the infamous Hubbler’s theories of Cosmic Expansion with me, are you?”

“Well, I would if I knew what that was,” Da Vinci giggled. Her brother could be funny at times. “But actually… I was wondering if you have an invention that could help me at the moment…”

Dawkins’ ears pricked in excitement. “Oooh… in need of one of my inventions, you say?” he said, leaping off from the desk and joining her. “So… what is causing you the inconvenience that the assistance of one of my humble inventions would be a solution of, my dear sister?”

It took a few seconds, but Da Vinci eventually understood what he was saying. “Well, there’s a convention at Primrose Hill that I’d like to go to, but I’m not familiar with that part of Camden. Do you have anything that would make sure I wouldn’t get lost?”

“Hmmm… well, that’s interesting actually…” Dawkins said, rubbing his chin in thought. “You might just be in luck! Because you see…”

He then hurried over to the other side of the room, with Da Vinci eagerly following behind him. They stopped at a large cabinet with three drawers in it, and Dawkins immediately opened the drawer at the bottom before rummaging about with the contents in it. Da Vinci held her breath, her eyes gleamed with hope as she waited for him to find whatever it was that he was looking for.

Two minutes later, Da Vinci’s eyes widened in excitement when Dawkins eventually pulled something out from the drawer and presented to her… a large piece of paper with drawings on it?!

“You see…” Dawkins began. “I did wonder to myself if there’s a device that would be able to know every dog’s exact location and give directions if one needs to go somewhere that they’ve never been before. And so, that’s when I came up with this… the ‘Guide the Pooch System’! Or, GPS for short.”

Da Vinci was visibly confused as she stared at the piece of paper that Dawkins proudly held in his left paw. “So… that paper is the ‘Guide the Pooch System’?”

“What? Oh, not at all!” Dawkins corrected her. “This paper contains the plans for the prototype of the GPS. I will, of course, have to build and assemble the final product first, then give it a few rounds of testing… and probably have it patented too before I could give one to you. It should probably take no less than… 2 to 3 months, perhaps?”

Da Vinci’s face fell with disappointment for the third time that morning. “Oh… I see. I was hoping you had something that could help me… today, actually.”

Dawkins felt sorry when he saw her disappointed look. “My sincere apologies, Da Vinci. But unfortunately, other than the soon-to-be-invented GPS, I’m afraid that I don’t quite have the appropriate contraption that would be of use for you at the moment,” he said, offering her an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

Da Vinci heaved a heavy sigh, her hopes once again shattered into oblivion. “That’s alright, Dawkins. I guess I’m just not meant to go to that convention after all. Thank you for trying to help.”

Dawkins couldn’t bear to see his sister so crestfallen and wanted to comfort her, but she had already scampered away out of the room and shut the door behind her.

“Oh-h…” the heartbroken pup whimpered as she stared at the floor with flattened ears.

She clenched both eyes as streams of tears trickled down her cheeks. Da Vinci wondered why everything seemed to be going against her. She had always helped her siblings without a second thought whenever her artistical talents were urgently required… she made sure she never bothers her family whenever she worked on her art projects… and yet, when all she wanted was some help so she could attend a once-in-a-lifetime convention… the whole world seemed to be determined to make sure she won’t get the slightest chance of making it to the artists’ event.

She wiped away her tears and stared at the empty hallway around her. She had no idea what to do next. The world around her appeared grey and unforgiving. Maybe she should just paint something, anything or whatever that she could think of… but what was the point? It would just be another painting that no-one would even notice.

She sniffled depressingly at the last thought. She gave up. There was nothing else that she could do. With a broken heart, she decided to simply go to her room and just curl up into some dark corner by herself.

But after walking a few paces forward, she froze in her steps in shock when she suddenly heard something. It was music… a heavenly and calming tune that echoed throughout the hallway. Da Vinci sat down in awe as the heavenly sounds danced about within her ears. The tune itself almost felt like it was embracing her to give her all the warmth and comfort in the world…

Da Vinci wondered what kind of music was being played that could give such an endearing feeling that felt so surreal. With curiosity getting the better of her, she followed the direction of the music. She soon ended up in front of the very last room at the end of the hallway, a room that she instantly recognized as D.J.’s.

She slowly turned the door handle to open it ajar and peeked in. In the middle of the room was her talented brother, playing a particular instrument that she had never seen him play before. It was long, thin and silver with holes on it. D.J. held it with both paws and blew into a single hole at one end of the instrument while his paws opened and covered some of the other holes at the other end of it.

The sound of the instrument being played was indeed heavenly, and as D.J. continued playing, Da Vinci closed her eyes and started picturing calm and soothing images in her mind. Eventhough the images all part of her imagination, it almost felt like she was staring right at them. A new urge suddenly brewed within her; the urge to paint these mental images. The heavenly music spawned these images in her mind, and now she had the urge to paint them out on a blank canvas and bring those images to life.

_Wait! Would that mean she would be painting… music?_

She gasped and her eyes widened. And it wasn’t because of the rhetorical question she had just asked herself. No, it was because D.J. had suddenly stopped playing the tune and happened to look towards the door.

In a split second, Da Vinci pulled herself to the side and away from the door frame, silently praying that D.J. hadn’t noticed her.

“Da Vinci… is that you outside?”

She sighed to herself. Of course he would notice her. Their eyes practically met when he happened to look at the door that she was hiding behind!

Despite feeling slightly embarrassed, Da Vinci mustered up the courage and slowly opened the door again.

“Hi, D.J….” she timidly said with an awkward smile as she walked into the room.

D.J. flashed his usual laid-back grin at her. “Hey, sis!” he cheerfully greeted her. But then his brows furrowed with worry as he asked, “I hope my music isn’t disturbing your artwork or something…”

“No, of course not D.J.,” Da Vinci assured him with a small smile. “I wasn’t even doing any painting at the moment.”

Her brother appeared relieved by this. “Oh, good. It’s just that… I don’t want to interrupt others with my horrible music. I’m still trying to get the hang of playing this flute,” he said, looking slightly downcast as he gazed at the instrument he was holding in his paws.

Da Vinci was shocked and taken aback at how he was belittling himself and his own music. “What… no! D.J., you were wonderful! And the music that you played was just heavenly to the ears!” She said, approaching closer towards him and offering an encouraging smile.

“You really think so?” D.J. asked, looking up at her. “Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?”

“I don’t usually make things up, D.J.,” she said in a soothing tone. “I really do think your music is just incredible!”

Her response was brief, but it was more than enough to make D.J. feel reassured. “Gee… thanks, Da Vinci. I sometimes feel a little insecure when I’m practicing a new instrument. But it’s always nice to hear an honest opinion from someone with amazing artistic talents such as yourself!” he said, in a more uplifting mood.

Da Vinci felt her cheeks slowly glow a deep shade of red at her brother’s compliments. Trust D.J. to always know what to say in order to make his siblings feel better. “Thank you, D.J.,” she beamed fondly at him, which he gladly reciprocated back. She then went on to inquire more about the new musical instrument that she had never seen before, “When did you start playing that- um… instrument? I usually see you play more modern things like your keyboard.”

“Oh, you mean my flute?” D.J. said as he held out the thin, metallic instrument towards Da Vinci so she could take a closer look at it. “Yeah… I usually play with more modern stuff, but ever since I started busking with my tuba that Dad gave me, I started getting interested in more traditional instruments such as this flute. Oh… and that music you heard me play just now? It’s known as the ‘Ode to Joy’.”

“The ‘Ode to Joy’?” Da Vinci repeated. “Wow… hearing you play it did make me feel joyous, D.J.. I suppose… it was really what I needed to hear after everything that happened today…”

“Yeah, playing the Ode to Joy is kinda tough with the flute-” D.J. began, but stopped his midway when he sensed something amiss with Da Vinci last sentence. “Wait… what did you mean by ‘everything that has happened’?”

Da Vinci almost didn’t realize that she had mentioned those very words, and looking her brother’s sudden concerned look, she wished that she had been more careful with what she said. “Oh… it’s nothing, D. J.” she quietly said, looking away from him. “Nothing much you can do about it, anyways.”

D.J. didn’t say anything at first. He noticed that the fur under her eyes was damped, telling him that she had been crying earlier. He was aware of how sensitive Da Vinci could be at times, and it pained him to know that something had caused his sister to be upset.

Da Vinci looked up in surprise when she suddenly felt his paw resting on her right shoulder.

“Aw… come on, Da Vinci. You can tell me about it! Who knows… I could come up with something that might be able to help you,” he softly said, in a warm, brotherly manner.

Seeing how sincere he was in wanting to help her made Da Vinci lift a small smile on her lips, but sadly, she doubted her brother would be able to help at all. “Thanks for caring about me, D.J., but I don’t really know how you can help. You see… there’s an artists’ convention that going on at noon today, but it’s all the way at the convention hall at Primrose Hill, and I don’t really know that part of Camden so well. And… Dylan said it’s better that I don’t go at all because no-one in the family has ever been there before.”

D.J. listened to her explanation and understood why she was upset. Da Vinci miserably stared at the floor once she finished, the heavy feeling in her chest had returned once again. She silently waited for D.J. to eventually admit that he couldn’t help her with her problem, but much to her utter surprise, he actually ended up saying:

“Primrose Hill? Well, why didn’t you tell me! I’ve been there before!”

Da Vinci instantly looked up at him with shock, thinking that her ears were playing tricks on her. “Wait… you have?!”

“Yeah! I’ve been there three times to be exact!” D.J. explained to her with a grin. “I got bored busking at Convent Garden all the time, so for the past 6 weeks, I’ve busked in different parts of Camden, and three of those times were at the park at Primrose Hill.”

Da Vinci stared at her brother. She wanted to say something but the words seemed to have gotten stuck in her throat. She just couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Wow… D.J., I- I just…”

But D.J. wasn’t done with what he had to say yet. “If you like… I don’t mind bringing you to Primrose Hill and accompanying you at your convention,” he added with a genuine smile.

Da Vinci’s heart pounded against her chest and she stared starry-eyed at her brother. She felt light-headed, as if she was suddenly in a dream. Was she hearing him correctly?!

“D.J…. I- I really don’t- I just…” she began, still struggling to find the right words to say to him.

Then, much to D.J.’s surprise, she suddenly flung both her paws around him and pressed her cheek against his in a deep embrace. D.J. didn’t expect such a reaction from her, but he was more than happy to return her warm embrace as he put his own paws around her.

“Yes, D.J….” he heard her say as they still held on to each other. “I would be more than happy if we could go to Primrose Hill together…”

They eventually let go of each other and D.J. found himself trying to downplay the red glow on his cheeks while Da Vinci continued beaming fondly at him.

“So, um… yeah…” D.J. began, trying to regain his composure. “If we wanna make it by noon, I think we should hop on the number 274 bus. It goes straight to Primrose Hill but it arrives at the bus stop around the corner from our house in twenty minutes.”

The number 274 sounded familiar to Da Vinci, and she remembered it was the same bus that those two adult dogs planned on taking.

“Okay… let me get my knapsack for my painting materials from my room, then I’ll meet you downstairs at the door,” she told him.

“Alright! I’ll see you downstairs, then,” D.J. replied.

Da Vinci promptly left the room, but then doubled back seconds later. “Oh… D.J.?” she called out to him.

“Yeah?”

She flashed him a mellow smile and softly said, “Thank you so much for being a sweet brother to me, D.J.. My soul has healed because of you…”

D.J. grinned back at her. He always admired how artistically Da Vinci expresses her emotions. “Aw, don’t mention it, Da Vinci. What are brothers for, right?”

His sister gave him an adoring look before disappearing again to get her knapsack.

D.J. was about to leave his room when he remembered about his flute. He stared at the metallic instrument at the table where he last left it. What he didn’t tell Da Vinci earlier was that it had actually cost him about 80% of his earnings from busking, and he was now afraid of leaving it behind, fearing that it could get damaged by one of the younger pups.

He decided it would be better to bring it along with him, just in case. Carefully grabbing it with his jaw, D.J. picked up his beloved new flute and exited his room, ready to undertake this new adventure with his artistic sister, Da Vinci.

**End of Part 1**

**I know I have a collection of one-shots, but I decided to make this as a standalone story as a dedication for my two favorite pups in the series; D.J. and Da Vinci. Do comment on how I did so far :)**


	2. Part 2

**A Tale of Two Artists (Part 2)**

D.J. grabbed his flute in his jaw and dashed into the hallway before stopping in front of Da Vinci’s room. His sister opened the door a minute later, wearing a grey knapsack that contained her painting materials over her back.

“Let’s go!” she eagerly cried out with a wide grin.

“ _Th_ ure! Ju _th_ make _th_ ure that _Dth_ ylan does _th_ n’t hear u _th_!” D.J. warned, his speech clearly muffled by the flute that he held in his jaw. He then led the way to the stairs and Da Vinci dashed after him, though she felt uncomfortable hearing his speech being impeded like that.

“Wait! D.J.!” she called out to him, just as they arrived at the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, wha _th_?”

Da Vinci silently took off the knapsack and opened it in front of him. “Would you be more comfortable if I carried your flute, D.J.?” she asked.

D.J. was surprised at her invitation, and was silently hesitant to accept it. But after considering the inevitable rush to the bus stop later on and the half an hour ride to Primrose Hill, D.J. conceded that it would relief him of having to lug the flute around between his jaws all the time.

“Gee, than _kth_. It’ll be a great help,” he said, gently putting the brass flute inside Da Vinci’s knapsack. He then tried to zip it back all the way, but the flute was too long and there was no choice but to let it stick out a bit from the knapsack. “Please be careful with it, Da Vinci,” D.J. eventually said, his brows furrowed with worry as he looked at the bit of the flute that stuck out.

His sister carefully put the knapsack back over her back. “Don’t worry. Your flute will be safe with me,” Da Vinci responded with an assuring and confident smile that brought some degree of relief for D.J.

“Alright, well that’s settled,” he declared, careful not to be too loud. “Come on!”

The two siblings carefully rushed down the stairs and went straight to the main door. D.J. scanned his paw on the scanner and the two nimbly hopped through the pet door without making so much as a squeak. Once outside, D.J. led the way to the bus stop around the corner with Da Vinci following closely behind.

Unbeknownst to the two pups, a pair of eyes had caught sight of them by chance, and was immediately affixed to the shiny brass that stuck out of Da Vinci’s knapsack…

By the time they arrived at the corner leading up to the bus stop, they had just about three minutes to spare before the number 274 bus arrives. A line of about seven humans were already waiting in a perfect, single file from the stand. Da Vinci thought that she and D.J. would queue up behind the 7th human, but to her surprise, D.J. calmly sat on his haunches in front of the first human instead.

“D.J…. won’t these humans mind that we’re cutting their queue?” she whispered her question with noticeable concern as she nervously joined beside him.

D.J. merely grinned at her. “Yeah, they probably would… if they weren’t so engrossed in those devices that they have in their hands,” he casually pointed out. Da Vinci stole a glance at the humans and noticed that all seven of them had their eyes glued to the small device that they each had in their hands, with their fingers tapping rapidly away on them at the same time.

 _Hmm… humans are very intriguing creatures…_ Da Vinci thought to herself as she stared at the seven preoccupied humans, though she noticed an 8th human wearing a black hoodie soon joining the queue behind the 7th human, but he didn’t seem to have the same device that the others had.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a loud squeal could be heard, and a loud _whooshing_ sound that immediately followed. The red double-decker bus had finally arrived. D.J. hopped onboard through the rear entrance, with Da Vinci following suit. Da Vinci gasped when she saw the entire lower deck of the bus almost filled with humans; some standing in the aisle, while most were crammed on the bench seats. Da Vinci cowered slightly, feeling uneased at the sight of so many humans.

Then, the humans that had been queueing up outside started climbing onboard as well. The first two humans walked past the pups without even noticing them, but the third human, a studious young female, caught sight of the two siblings and instantly adored them. “Aww…. a handsome young pup with headphones and another wearing a pink bandana and a knapsack over her back! How cuuute!” she fondly cooed at them and gave both Dalmatians a quick pat on the head each before making her way to one of the bench seats.

D.J. clearly enjoyed the attention he had just received as his tail continued thumping excitedly against the floor. His sister, however, felt quite the opposite. Da Vinci cowered further behind D.J. hoping that the female human was the only one to have noticed them, but much to her dismay, the male human who was right behind the earlier female noticed them too, and proceeded to give them head pats as well, and he was soon followed by the fifth and sixth humans behind him.

Da Vinci whimpered and winced everytime a hand landed on her head. A dark image of a hand violently grabbing her head and flinging her into the air would flash in her mind with each pat she received.

Just as the seventh human climbed onboard and looked like he was about to give them a pat as well, D.J. finally realized that Da Vinci had cowered behind him the whole time and felt rather guilty when he saw the distressed look on her face. He completely forgot that she didn’t like receiving too much attention from humans.

“Hey… Da Vinci?” he softly said. “Why don’t we ride on the top deck? There aren’t usually many humans there.”

“Yes, please…” she hurriedly replied before quickly dashing up the narrow stairs that led to the upper deck, with D.J. following closely behind. He managed to hear an annoyed grunt from somewhere behind the seventh human just as he left, though he didn’t think much about it.

Once she arrived, Da Vinci saw for herself that, for some strange reason, there wasn’t a single human in sight at the top deck, meaning they were free to choose whichever seat they preferred. Da Vinci chose the front-most bench on the right side of the aisle and sat right next to the window, with D.J. joining her on her left.

A few seconds later, a loud _whooshing_ sound was heard and the bus started trundling forwards. A digital clock that was placed overhead on the roof of the bus showed 11:25 am, and considering that the bus usually took about 20 minutes to reach the bus stop at Primrose Hill, that left them with more than 15 minutes to spare once they reached the convention hall. D.J. glanced over at Da Vinci and saw that she was now much calmer than before and looked like she was actually enjoying the bus ride.

D.J. grinned to himself; everything was going smoothly and just the way he planned. The sound of footsteps heading up to the upper deck interrupted his thoughts, and he looked behind to see a human appearing from the stairs. He recognized him as the eighth human from the queue earlier, the one who wore a black hoodie over his head. D.J. watched the human keep his gaze on the floor as he shuffled along to sit on one of the benches on the left side of the aisle, just several rows behind theirs.

D.J. shrugged and thought nothing more of it.

They were now five minutes into the ride and on the way to the bus stop at Camden Market, which was the last stop before the bus would make its way to Primrose Hill. Da Vinci had been spending her time looking out the window and gazing at the familiar buildings and landmarks of Camden that passed by.

Then, the bus started decelerating as it was around the corner from Camden Market. As Da Vinci stared out of the window, a dismal-looking building soon came into her full view. Her heartbeat started picking up as the unsightly building loomed over her. A large broken sign hung from the façade of the building that spelled out ‘ANIMAL HELTER’, with the letter ‘S’ clearly missing from the second word.

Da Vinci felt her legs become weak as she cowered lower into her seat, her body trembling as dark images of the past flashed before her eyes. A small whimper managed to escape her quivering lips as she quickly shifted her gaze away from the window.

D.J. noticed this and wondered what had happened… until he too saw the hideous sight of the building slowly pass by the window. For the second time that day, it pained him to see his sister in such a delicate state; he knew that the building remained an ugly reminder of her tormented past.

D.J. racked his brain to come up with something to comfort his emotionally distraught sister, and almost instantly had an idea. “Hey, Da Vinci! Check it out!” he cheerfully cried out, gaining Da Vinci’s attention.

He flipped the right speaker of his headphones so that it was pointing outwards and immediately pulled his sister closer to him so that her left ear was now resting against that particular speaker. Da Vinci was honestly surprised by this sudden gesture, and wondered what D.J. was planning to do.

With a casual grin, D.J. pushed the button on his collar. Heavenly music started playing through the headphones almost instantly, and Da Vinci’s eyes widened with wonder as the soothing music reached her ears. The music was playing the same tune that D.J. was practicing in the house; the ‘Ode to Joy’, but it had all sorts of different musical instruments playing the same tune at the same time.

“D.J… this is beautiful…” Da Vinci sighed in a more relaxed tone, the flashes of dark images instantly withering away as she became more and more immersed in the heavenly music.

“That is the orchestral version of the ‘Ode to Joy’,” D.J. explained. “An orchestra is where many different instruments play the same music.”

Da Vinci was actually too absorbed into the music to hear his explanation, and she made that fact even clearer when she closed her eyes, put a paw to cover her right ear and leaned herself deeper against her brother.

D.J. shared the same feeling of warmth when he felt Da Vinci leaning against him, but more importantly, he was just glad that he helped his sister to get rid of whatever bad memories that still lingered in her mind after passing by that dog-forsaken building.

The two siblings spent the rest of the journey huddled together and sharing the same beautiful music through the headphones, until the bus finally came to a halt, and D.J. instantly recognizing the view of the Primrose Hill outside the window. “Hey, looks like we’ve arrived,” he pointed out, noting that the digital clock was now showing 11:47 am.

Da Vinci pulled herself away from the headphones and gave D.J. a fond look. “Thank you for sharing that beautiful music with me, D.J.,” she said with a grateful smile before braving herself to give her brother a quick but affectionate rub against his muzzle.

D.J. happily flashed her a grin as his way of saying ‘you’re welcome’ before hopping off the bench and motioning for Da Vinci to follow him. Along the way to the stairs, the two siblings passed by the human with the black hoodie, who was still sitting on his bench and staring out through the window on his left.

Once they’ve hoped off the bus right next to the Primrose Hill bus stop, D.J. pointed out to an alleyway that cut across between two shop lots just a few feet away from them, “Okay, we just need to go through that alley over there between the shops and then make a right. That will then take us all the way straight to the front entrance of Primrose Hill’s convention hall.”

Da Vinci’s eyes twinkled at the mention of the convention hall. “Oooh, I can’t believe we’re already so near to the artists’ convention!” she gleefully exclaimed while excitedly thumping her front paws against the pavement.

“Yup. And with about 10 minutes to spare too,” D.J. added. “Come on!”

Without wasting another second, they turned off from the busy sidewalk near the bus stop and into the narrow alleyway between the two shop lots.

As they walked, Da Vinci giddily started picturing what the scenery at the convention would be like while D.J. fondly played back the moments of affection that he and Da Vinci shared throughout the day so far.

However, a long and dark shadow suddenly loomed over the two dalmatians from the front, causing them to suddenly freeze in their tracks. Their eyes widened with fear as the owner of the shadow started approaching them, step by cruel step.

“’Ello, puppies!”

**To be continued…**

**This was supposed to be a longer chapter, but sadly, time is a luxury for me at the moment. Let me know how I did, yeah? And see you in the next chapter!**


	3. Part 3

**A Tale of Two Artists (Part 3)**

The two frightened Dalmatian siblings took a step back as the threatening human took a step towards them. His long overcoat covered most of his bulky frame while the flat cap that he wore on his noggin cast a deep shadow over his sinister face.

His menacing grin sent shivers down D.J.’s and Da Vinci’s spines as he approached closer towards them.

D.J.’s eyes frantically darted around him, looking for anyone could help. Alas, there was not a single other soul around the long, narrow alleyway they were at.

“Aww… a pair of lost puppies of a _very_ expensive breed…” the human taunted them with a croaky voice as he took another step forwards. “You’d make me a quick profit, won’t you now? And that pretty lil’ flute you got there… my, what a bonus!”

D.J. heard Da Vinci whimper slightly and he saw that the human’s gaze was trained squarely on her and the flute that she carried in her knapsack. Hearing her in distress, a sudden spark of anger ignited within him. His fearful look instantly morphed into a snarl.

The human made for a grab at Da Vinci’s knapsack, but then…

“ARRGHH!”

He yowled in pain when D.J. snapped at his hand, causing him to retreat a step back. The human growled as he rubbed his now-bleeding right hand and glared at the snarling D.J., who bared his fangs at him.

“Oh… you’re gonna pay heavily for that!” the human threatened with his gaze now trained on D.J.. He pulled his leg back and aimed a sharp kick at the Dalmatian puppy, but D.J. was fast enough to instinctively roll himself to the left and away from the swing of the human’s leg.

Da Vinci saw that the human was now even more furious after the missed hit, and seeing that his piercing glare was still aimed at D.J., she braved herself to dash behind the human while he was distracted and aimed her jaws at his buttocks.

“YOOOOOOW!”

His pained howl echoed throughout the alleyway for the second time when he felt the sharp fangs pierce into his flesh. He spun around and started seeing red as his vision narrowed back on Da Vinci.

“That’s it! I’m gonna’ bleedin kill ya’, ya bleedin lil’ mutt!” he cried out in a frenzy as he started lurching forwards towards the now-cowering Da Vinci.

But he made no more than two steps when he suddenly stumbled forwards before clumsily falling face-first into the ground with a loud grunt. Feeling two small streams of blood now steadily flowing from his nose, he looked back to see D.J. biting and pulling the lower part of his overcoat which had caused him to stumble.

Battered from his injuries, the human fiercely snatched his overcoat from D.J. and started crawling towards the Dalmatian, who immediately retreated backwards.

Da Vinci saw the human’s rump as he furiously crawled towards D.J. and immediately got a rather naughty idea. She took out the flute from the knapsack and held it in her jaws, but made sure that a significant part of it was sticking out. She then trained her gaze on the human’s rump before making a charge for it and-

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

After nearly howling his head off, the human started whimpering with tears streaming down his eyes after he felt the razor-sharp prod to his a-

“Oof!”

His head was once again forced into the ground when D.J. nimbly hopped on it before scampering away towards the alley’s exit with Da Vinci following beside him.

“I’m gonna kill ‘em! I’m gonna kill ‘em! I’m gonna kill ‘em!”

The human could only parrot those words as he struggled to pick himself up while clutching his injured rear end. He stumbled forwards, meaning with every fibre in his being to catch up with those damned puppies, but then heard a fierce “HALT!” from behind him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Once they reached the end of the alley, D.J. and Da Vinci crossed an adjacent road before stopping at the side of a small, circular building to catch their breath. “Phew… that was a close one…” D.J. panted with exhaustion.

“Who wa _th_ that human _th_?” Da Vinci asked, her voice muffled by the flute that was still in her jaws.

“Don’t know. But he certainly wasn’t friendly,” he replied, before he thought of his flute that Da Vinci was holding. “Say… what did you do with my flute again?”

Da Vinci had to suppress her grin as she released the flute into her paws. “Well… let’s just say that you might want to wipe the flute a bit before the next time you play it.”

D.J. lifted a confused brow as he watched Da Vinci nimbly put the flute back into her knapsack and shifted his gaze back at him with a rather satisfied grin.

Just as D.J. was about to ask another question, the two puppies overheard a gruff voice from in front of the building.

_“You’re here as an artist or connoisseur?”_

_“Well, you don’t see us carrying any artwork here, right? So of course we’re connoisseurs!”_

_“Yeah, yeah, no need to be so uppity about it. Come on in.”_

D.J. and Da Vinci exchanged glances before they raced to the front of the building. Da Vinci’s eyes gleamed when she saw the sign above the building’s revolving-door entrance that read _Primrose Hill Convention Centre_.

“We’re here! We made it!” she gleefully exclaimed right before she made a dash for the revolving doors.

“Err… Da Vinci!”

She heard her brother call out to her but didn’t want to stop in her tracks… until a fierce-looking bulldog suddenly came into her view.

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold it right there, kid!” the much larger dog sternly warned in the same gruff voice that they heard, just as Da Vinci screeched to a halt just inches away from him. “Just where do you think you’re going, eh?”

Da Vinci took a step back as she observed the glossy-black bulldog that wore a collar with a plate that had the name ‘Biff’ engraved into it.

“Pardon me, Mr. Biff. But my brother and I were just about to enter the artists’ convention. I hope you wouldn’t mind us,” she politely said with a hopeful look as she gazed at the bulldog, who was clearly working as a bouncer.

Biff shifted his gaze between Da Vinci and D.J. with a doubtful look planted on his face. “Hmm… sorry kids. This convention’s restricted to certain dogs. Artists or connoisseurs only.”

“But… I _am_ an artist.” Da Vinci informed him in a rather small voice.

“Pfft… yeah, sure kid. If you’re an artist, where’s your artworks? All invited artists bring their art pieces here to show ‘em off to the connoisseurs.”

Da Vinci furrowed her brows for a moment, wondering how to convince the bouncer that she belonged in the convention.

“Well… I don’t have an art piece to bring, but I can make them on the spot. I’ve even brought my painting materials with me,” she finally said before taking off her knapsack and opening it in front of him.

Biff took a mere brief glance at the knapsack before commenting, “What? You telling me you paint with a flute?”

Da Vinci silently rolled her eyes with subtle exasperation, but she proceeded to dip her paws into the knapsack and pulled out the various paint brushes and tubes of paint before presenting them in front of the bouncer’s nose.

“Ah… guess I didn’t see ‘em the first round,” he commented before his eyes unexpectedly widen as a thought suddenly flew into head. “Blimey… don’t tell me you’re part of the ‘live-demonstration performers’ or whatever it is they’re called?”

Da Vinci was genuinely confused by the sudden question. “Well, n-”

“Yes, we are! We’re one of the performers!”

Da Vinci looked at D.J. in surprise when he suddenly cut her off. And she wasn’t the only one either.

Biff started scratching his head as he observed D.J., who looked at him back with a wide, confident smile.

“So… you’re telling me that you’re an artist too?” Biff asked, still appearing confused.

“Of course! My sister and I do collaborations together. I’m sure that as a bouncer, you would’ve known that we’re on the list of performers making a live demonstration of our artwork, right?”

Biff was somewhat torn about trusting D.J.’s words, but at the same time, he didn’t want to appear as a clueless bouncer in front of some ‘kids’, if what D.J. said was actually the truth. In the end, he finally decided to take his words for it.

“Err… yeah, yeah, I think I remembered seeing a brother-sister duo amongst the list of performers,” he nervously laughed before rushing over to the revolving doors to present them the entrance. “Right this way, yeah?”

Da Vinci silently flashed an impressed look at D.J. as she wore the knapsack around her back again before walking through the doors first.

D.J. followed after her, but not before sneakily saying, “Charmed to have utilized your services, my dear door-dog,” in a feigned posh accent as he walked pass Biff, who could only blurt out a nervous “Y-you’re welcome!” in response.

Once they were inside and away from ear-shot, Da Vinci gleefully turned to her brother. “D.J.! That was amazing!” she excitedly squealed, much to her beaming brother’s pride. “I almost thought that we didn’t have a chance of getting in. Thank you…”

“Aw, don’t mention it, Da Vinci. I just didn’t want us to get turned away when we’ve gone so far to be here,” D.J. said with a grin at her. “And anyways, I kinda enjoyed messing about with that Biff guy.”

Da Vinci smiled softly at him before giving him a warm nuzzle to his side. “Well… thanks again, D.J.. For also looking out for me back at the alleyway. You’re a great brother.”

The blush on D.J.’s cheeks got warmer when he heard his sister’s sincere compliments. “You’re an equally great sister too, Da Vinci. Especially how you used my flute to get me out of the pinch with that human.”

The two siblings shared a giggle as they briefly recalled what had happened at the alleyway earlier. They then turned their gaze at the two large doors in front of them that was the entrance to the convention hall.

“Shall we?” D.J. said as he nudged one of the doors open and held it in a gentlemanly way for his sister pass through.

“Thank you,” Da Vinci grinned at him before both disappeared through the doors and into a magnificent sight that stole their breaths away.

**End of Part 3**


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